Barber&#39;s comb



'Feb. 11, 1941.

J. K. LAMBERT BARBER S COMB Filed Dec. 2, 1959 6 mm mm 3 vm .QQ @g INVENTOR.

JOSE/{7H K. LAMBERT. I) 1' K/W ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 11, 1941 sannsnscoivm Joseph K. Lambert, New York, N. 5!.

Application December 2, 1939, Serial No. 367,197

5 Claims.

This invention relates generally to barbers combs and more particularly to combs that are used by barbers in the operation of trimming the hair.

In using a comb of this character the barber ordinarily takes it in his left hand, with the teeth pointing upwardly, lifts the hair tips by means of the toothed edge of the comb and, by means of scissors manipulated with the right hand, cuts oil the ends of the hairs that project beyond the comb teeth. In order to regulate the length to which the hairs are cut, the barber manipulates the comb by a rolling or swivelling movement about its back, whereby the teeth of the comb move away from the head, and as the comb teeth move away from the head the projecting ends obviously become shorter.

A second movement of the comb is a longitudinal one, however usually in a serpentine line, following the contours of the hair boundaries at the side of the head and the back of the neck or head, and this movement may be analyzed into components one of which is a translational movement in the plane of the comb, and the other is an angling movement in said plane about some point in the comb.

Among the objects of my invention is the provision in a barbers comb of a construction whereby the manipulation of the comb as hereinabove described is rendered more convenient and the operation of cutting the hair may be more conveniently and effectively carried out.

Among the more particular objects of my invention are further the provision in a comb of a concave back and the provision in a comb of con vex areas between the teeth thereof disposed angularly in relation to the longitudinal extent of the teeth.

Among the objects of my invention is further the provision of a handle on a comb, whereby the manipulation of the comb is rendered more convenient because of the contours of the p rtions in contact with the hand and because of the more effective distribution of the weight.

Among the objects of my invention are also the provision in a barbers comb of a head-engaging surface that is provided with contours whereby the heretofore described rolling movement is facilitated and of peculiarly contoured comb teeth whereby the hair is more readily admitted between the teeth of the comb and is more effectively guided thereby.

The general object of my invention is the provision in a barbers comb of a simple, eifective and economical construction.

These objects and such other objects as will hereinafter appear or be pointed out are attained in the illustrative embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of my im- 5 proved comb, portions being broken away to disclose the interior construction;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary View of a portion of the comb on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-4 of 10 Figure 1 and 2;

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 showing a modification;

Figure 5 is a sectional View substantially on the line 55 of Figure 2; J

Figure 6 is an end elevational view of the comb; and

Figure 7 is a View illustrating the manner of handling the comb.

Figure 1A is a view, more or less diagrammati'c and similar to Figure 1, showing the curves of the outer edge of the back exaggerated, for purposes of illustration, this effect being obtained by reducing the length of the comb relatively to its width.

Referring now to the drawing in detail it Will be observed that I have therein shown my improved comb as provided with a back portion 10 and a tooth portion comprising a set of relatively fine teeth ii and a set of relatively coarse teeth l2. Seated on the back it] of the comb at one end thereof is shown a handle portion 54.

The handle portion l -'l is preferably of a thickness greater than that of the comb and of a weight that will tend to shift the center of gravity of the comb toward the handle end. The increased bulk of the handle end thus enables the operator to obtain a better grip on the comb, and manipulation of the comb during the rolling and angling movements is greatly facilitated by the 1 distribution of the weight so that it is more nearly concentrated in the handle end.

In the illustrative embodiment of Figure 1 the handle it is shown as of cylindrical form and as 45 hollow, whereby it has a contour that fits conveniently into the hand, as shown in Figure '7, and has adequate strength and adequate weight, without however having an excess of weight.

'Ihe bore Ma of the handle It may extend com- 50 alternative construction-s have not been illustrated.

It will further be seen on referring to Figure 1 that the portions of the back I0 of the comb that are opposite the coarse teeth I2, are of substantial width, whereby in manipulating the comb, the thumb and fingers can obtain a good grip thereon, (see Figure 7), and this grip can be readily shifted lengthwise of the comb in effect to either shorten or lengthen the comb in order more efiectively to carry out desired manipulations.

The teeth I2 may be of conventional construction with both faces inclined 'as shown in Figure 6; the portion of the back I0 adjacent thereto from which the teeth I2 project may also be conventional except as to the handle portion to which further reference will be made. The tooth portion II however is different from the conventional construction, as clearly appears from the showing of Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5, and the portion of the back II) from which the teeth I2 project also differs from the conventional construction, as will be apparent from Figures 1, 2 and 3.

Upon viewing Figure 3 it will be observed that the teeth I! are wedge shaped but that this wedge is formed in these teeth by one face which is parallel to the general median plane of the comb whereas the other face is inclined to this median plane as contradistinguished from the teeth I2 shown in Figure 6 where the wedge shaped teeth have both surfaces inclined in reference to this median plane. The importance of this distinction will be pointed out hereinafter.

Beginning at a point such as A (see Figure 1) and extending toward the narrow end of the comb, which is the end opposed to the handle I4, the back I0 is concavely curved as shown at I9, whereby when the operator manipulates the comb so as to roll the back edge on the head or on the hair, or to give it an angular movement in a longitudinal plane this concave back will conveniently follow the contours of the head and of the ear, enabling a more uniform hair cutting operation and greater accuracy on the part of the operator in estimating the length of the hair in the hair trimming operation, than is possible in combs having a straight back edge. The rolling operation is further facilitated by the curvature of the side I8 of the comb that is held against the head during the hair cutting operation, as indicated at II, it being understood that the rolling takes place about the back edge I0.

It will be observed that since the back edge of the comb opposite the teeth I2 is convex, that the complete back may be described as being reversely curved.

Intermediate the teeth I I, that is, in the interstices between the teeth, the inner edge 2| of the frame I 0 is cut away in a convex-1y curved surface 22, as clearly appears from Figures 2 and 3. This curved surface as viewed in section, may start at a right angle to the head engaging surface I8 of the comb as shown by the dot and dash line R in Figure 3, and may then extend toward the back of the comb.

I have found in practice that by so curving the surface portions between .the teeth that the hair is lifted and bent upwards thereby enabling a smooth hair cutting operation.

In the modified form of Figure 4, in which corresponding parts have been numbered similarly but the numerals have been primed, it will be observed .that the curved surface 22' is shown as starting at an angle that is acute, as indicated by the dot and dash line R, and thereafter curving towards the back of the comb as it does in the form of Fig. 3.

An additional feature of my invention will be found fully illustrated in Figure 5, which shows the teeth II in section. It will be observed that the teeth II may be described as generally of triangular conformation in section, with an apex 23 of the triangle at the head engaging surface I8 of the comb, and a side or base 24 of the triangle on the side of the comb away from the head. The interstices 25 between the teeth II are thereby contoured sectionally so as to have wide mouth or entrance portions 26 facing the head, into which hair can readily enter, while the narrow portion 21 of the interstices guides the hair and holds it during the cutting operation.

The use ofmy improved comb will be understood from Figure 7 in which the operation of trimming the hair above the ear is illustrated. It will be observed that the operator grasps the bandie I4 with his hand H in the manner shown in the drawing and rests the concave back edge I9 of the comb on the ear of the subject. During this operation only the narrow forward end of the comb with its fine teeth I I is used. The great convenience of the concave edge I9 will at once be apparent from an inspection of Figure 7. It will be seen that the comb may be readily tilted about its support on the ear, .the contacting portion of the comb being located in its concave section I9. At the same time the aforesaid rolling motion is readily effected about the curved portion I! of the comb which rests partly on the ear and on the head.

When the operator works on the back of the head the concave edge I9 during the rolling manipulation will rest on and will merge with the contours at the back of the head more nearly than the straight edge, while at the same time it does not interfere with a free longitudinal movement such as is necessary .to pass from one portion of the head to another.

The formation of the wedge in the teeth II by one side which is inclined to the median plane of the comb and a side which is not, is important in that it reduces the angle between the two faces by 50% so that the teeth II are brought into engagement with the hairs immediately adjacent to the line where the clipper stopped, with the inclined surface of the teeth I I flat against the skin, and the angle which the other or upper surface makes with reference to the skin will be one-half of what it would be otherwise and therefore permit a much finer cutting operation than could otherwise be effected. In other words, I thereby attain a differential action upon the hair between the teeth I2 and II by the aforementioned difference between the two teeth.

While I have herein illustrated one embodiment of my invention and a modification thereof it will be understood that my invention may be embodied in many other forms as will be obvious to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. It will further be understood that the disclosure herein is by Way of illustration merely and is not to be interpreted in a limiting sense and that I do not limit myself other than as called for by the prior art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A barbers comb comprising a back and teeth projecting outwardly from said back, substantially one-half of the edge of said back extending between the middle and one end of said comb being concavely contoured so as to readily follow the contours of the head during angling or rolling movements of the comb incident to trimming the hair.

2. A barbers comb comprising a back, teeth projecting from said back substantially along the entire length thereof, and a handle portion constituting one end of said back positioned at one end of said comb, said handle portion being of substantially greater thickness than the other portions of said back which are substantially fiat so as to afford an operator a better grip and to bring the center of gravity toward said handle end.

3. A barbers com-b comprising a back, teeth projecting from said back substantially along the entire length thereof, and a handle portion constituting one end of said back positioned at one end of said comb, said handle portion being of substantially greater thickness than the other portions of said back which are substantially flat so as to afford an operator a better grip and to bring the center of gravity toward said handle end, said handle portion being cylindrically contoured, and having a diameter of the order of the length of said teeth, projecting from said handle portion.

4. A barbers comb comprising a back, and teeth projecting outwardly from said back, and a portion of, the outer edge of the comb extending substantially from the midpoint of the comb to one end of said comb being concavely contoured, and the transverse cross-section of said comb taken within the region where said outer edge is concavely curved being substantially quadrilateral with two long sides and two short sides, one of the latter lying in the outer edge of the back, and two opposed angles of the quadrilateral being replaced by convex curves.

5. A barbers comb comprising a back and teeth projecting from said back throughout its length,

said teeth being divided into two groups, one having coarse teeth and the other fine teeth and one group arranged substantially between the midpoint of the comb in the direction of its length and one end of the comb, and the other group arranged between said midpoint and the other end of the comb, said comb having the coarse teeth and the portion of the back from which they project disposed symmetrically about the longitudinal, medial plane of the comb, while the fine teeth and the portion of the back from which they project is bounded on one side by a plane parallel to said medial plane and on the opposite side by a plane inclined to said medial plane, whereby said fine teeth are given a tapered conformation, the portion of the back of said comb from which said coarse teeth project being relatively wide and the portion of the back of said comb from which the fine teeth project being relatively narrow, and the outer edge of the comb being reversely curved whereby said relatively wide portion of the back is convexly curved and said relatively narrow portion of said back is concavely curved, and whereby said relatively wide portion gradually merges into said relatively narrow portion, the back of the comb being substantially flat except at and adjacent the outer end of said relatively wide portion, where it is expanded laterally to thicken it substantially into a handle portion, and the traverse cross-section of the back of the comb between adjacent fine teeth being a modified trapezoid with one side parallel to the medial plane and the opposite side inclined to the medial plane, and the corner that would normally be formed at the meeting of the back edge of the comb and the inclined side being replaced by a convex curve, and the corner that would normally be formed by the said parallel side and the inner edge of the comb between the teeth, being also replaced by a convex curve.

JOSEPH K. LAMBERT. 

